How we got here
Here are some key dates in the history of the Chesapeake Bay Hydraulic Model, which was located along the bay in the Matapeake area of Kent Island.
1952: The Bay Bridge opens, dooming the bay ferry service that used Matapeake as one of its terminals.
1960s: U.S. Rep. Rogers C.B. Morton proposes building a bay model to study the estuary.
1965: Bay model is first authorized by Congress.
1966: First federal funding for the bay model.
1970: Maryland sells the Matapeake site to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for $10.
1973: Groundbreaking ceremony held. The model is expected to be ready to use by June 1976.
1976: Dedication ceremony is held. Three experiments are planned for 1977.
1977: In May, Corps officials say the bay model could be ready for experiments by the summer. Insulation falling from the ceiling begins causing problems.
1978: The Corps removes the problematic insulation. Officials say the insulation came loose because of temperature fluctuations in the warehouse, which did not have heating or cooling systems.
1980: The model’s cement floor begins “heaving, much like a poorly laid cement sidewalk.”
1981: The model is recalibrated and ready to resume tests in October after expansion joints were fixed. For the second time in two years, tests are halted due to budget cuts in December. The Corps moves to “caretaker” status, keeping the bay model working, but not doing any actual research.
1983: An 11-member task force solicits suggestions for what to do with the building. Maryland’s congressmen make a last-ditch effort to secure money to keep the model going until a feasibility study is completed. Ideas include turning it into an educational center, a rockfish hatchery or for storage for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
1984: Bay model closes. Later, it is used for storage by the National Security Administration.
1992: U.S. General Services Administration declares the land to be surplus property and proposes selling to the state or a private bidder for fair market value.
1993: Congress orders the GSA to give the property to the state.
1994: Board of Public Works votes to accept the site back from the federal government in January, and in September, the board approves a shrimp farm proposal. No rent was to be charged for a six-month trial period, but the Maryland Shrimp Co. would have to make repairs to the building.
1995: The shrimp farm project runs into financing and legal problems, and the company halts construction in January.
1996: Queen Anne’s County takes over the site. Under an agreement with the state, the property had to be renovated for “economic development activity” and a share of the profits would go to the state.
Within a year, the county leases the building for use as paper storage by Matapeake Terminal Corp., a company owned by Arthur Kudner of Tidewater Publishing.
2002: Kudner negotiates a release from his lease for the site. Queen Anne’s County agrees to lease the building to R.W. Marsh Enterprises for the Matapeake Maritime Center, an indoor boat warehouse to accommodate up to 600 boats, boat repair business and marine trade school.
When a new set of county commissioners is elected, they decide to renegotiate the terms of the lease.
2003: In January, the Queen Anne’s County Commissioners ask state delegates and senators for help in turning the bay model site into a boat storage business and the National Classic Boating Museum. In February, part of the roof collapses following a major snowstorm.
2004: An insurance claim for the roof is settled for $1.33 million and the county and R.W. Marsh Enterprises strike a new, 10-year lease deal for the Matapeake Maritime Center. The county would retain part of the building for its own use.
2005: The Board of Public Works approves the deal for the Matapeake Maritime Center.
2007/2008: The Matapeake Maritime Center deal falls apart.
2010: Following a 2009 “request for interest,” Queen Anne’s County selects proposals from Miltec Corp. and Linden Development to take over the site.
Miltec would move its UV curing business to the site. Linden would lease part of the site to NRL & Associates, a manufacturing company, and develop an 80,000-square-foot sports complex.
Dec. 31, 2010: If a viable project is not approved for the site, the property will revert to state ownership.
— Sources: The Capital, The Baltimore Sun, The Baltimore News-American, state property records, Queen Anne’s County.
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